We typically associate the American Flag with the 4th of July, the date that many of us know as "America's birthday", but a special day was designated for the adoption of the American Flag on June 14th, 1977.

236 years ago today, the United States, more specifically the Second Continental Congress, adopted the American Flag. According to History.com, "When the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, the colonists didn’t yet unite under a single flag. Instead, they fought mainly under unit or regimental flags, according to Marc Leepson, author of the book “Flag: An American Biography.” One flag of the time featured a picture of a coiled rattlesnake with the slogan “Don’t Tread on Me,” while another showed a pine tree with the words “An Appeal to Heaven.” “There really wasn’t anything that was stars and stripes, red, white and blue.”

Until two years later, in 1777. It was then the American Flag was determined to be 13 stripes, alternate red and white, and that the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.

Nobody is certain who designed the American Flag or what the significance of the red, white, and blue colors are, but to this day the American Flag is a recognizable symbol of our nation's strength, unity, and pride. We celebrate this special symbol on June 14th, otherwise known as Flag Day.